


Don't Fall

by OpalPulsar



Category: Don't Starve (Video Game), Gravity Falls
Genre: Camping, Carnival, How Do I Tag This, Insanity, Webber gets another friend, first chapter has no crossover content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-03-15 01:15:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13602498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OpalPulsar/pseuds/OpalPulsar
Summary: Mabel and Dipper find their way back to Gravity Falls for more fun-filled adventure, only to find a group of newbies have shown up in their town. As lighthearted fun turns into something darker, unexpected allies are made and the two begin to investigate just what happened that brought the curious group of W names here...Written because I couldn't find any good GF/DS crossover fics. Updates weekly.





	1. Intro

**Author's Note:**

> I'll try to update weekly but I may be inconsistent. That said, since there's no crossover content in the first chapter and I have quite a bit prewritten, enjoy a double upload!

Dipper quietly flipped through a mystery book, occasionally stopping to look down at Mabel, who was asleep, her head on his lap. He was surprised she could sleep on this rickety bus. Grunkle Stan had apparently found a less costly bus service for their second time in Gravity Falls, and although he knew in his heart Grunkle Stan would never do anything that would put him and Mabel in danger, he still felt his heart jolt every time the bus swerved or hit yet another pothole.

He opened up the journal he had gotten in the mail from Ford a month earlier, back in August. The siblings had both been upset at not being allowed to go to Gravity Falls for the summer, and they had both received gifts just before school started to make up for it. Dipper got a journal with a pine tree symbol on it, while Mabel had gotten an upgraded grappling hook, emblazoned with a shooting star to match her sweater. Fishing a pen out from one of his vest pockets, he flipped to the “events” section and began to write.

_September 8th, 2013.  
My sister and I have hit upon a stroke of luck! Since our school got flooded due to heavy rain, Mabel asked our parents if we could go to school in Gravity Falls- and they said yes! Now we’re on a bus heading towards the Mystery Shack. I can’t wait to hunt anomalies with Ford again, but I have a feeling that not everything’s going to go as planned. Still, we’ll deal with whatever’s thrown in our way, whatever it may take._

He closed the journal, putting it and the pen back in his vest. Mabel stirred as they passed the “Welcome to Gravity Falls” sign, yawning and stretching, almost elbowing Dipper in the side. 

“Are we there yet, bro-bro?” she asked. 

“We just passed the sign.” Dipper responded. 

Mabel cheered, before launching into a chant. “Grunkle Stan! Grunkle Stan! Grunkle Stan!” 

The bus driver took a hard left, sending Dipper slamming into the side of the bus. He could hear what sounded like large rocks being sent skittering out of the way as the bus pulled onto the grounds of the Mystery Shack. Mabel got up right away and rushed out of the bus, while Dipper took a few moments to recover from the sudden turn- and worry about what would happen next. What anomalous threat would they encounter next? What would be the aftermath of such an event? He was pulled out his theorizing by Mabel yelling “Get over here, Dip-dork! Look what Grunkle Stan made for Waddles!” He got up, grabbing his suitcase from under the seat and leaving the bus. The bus driver promptly drove away- they were the last stop, after all. 

Dipper was promptly greeted by Waddles, wearing a strange pendant and encased in a rainbow, shimmery avatar that lifted him a few inches off the ground. “Doesn’t he look fabulous?” Mabel asked, eyes wide in excitement. Ford was standing some ways off from Stan, nothing down the effects of the pendant in one of his ever-present journals. Dipper noted with some excitement that it was labeled with a large ‘4’. “Hey, isn’t that the effects of the Opearl you told me about?” “It most certainly is.” Ford responded. “I figured since Mabel enjoys bright, prismatic objects, and since Opearls appear to be purely cosmetic in their effects, I decided that-“ He was cut off by a sudden hug from Mabel. “It’s amazing, Grunkle Ford!” He hesitated for a moment, looking startled, before bending down to return the hug. 

Stan came forward next, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well, kid, it was hard findin’ something that didn’t cost much and that you would be interested in, but I found this, uh, nerd game that was on sale at GameHalt so, uh, here ya go kid.” He handed Dipper a present that was wrapped in what looked like a grocery store bag. Dipper unwrapped the package with some trepidation- he knew how shady Grunkle Stan could be- only to find the one thing he never expected. 

“Whoa, a copy of Super Blast Brothers for the 3FS?!” He exclaimed, turning around. “But this is the limited edition version they stopped selling months ago! This is incredible!”

He waved a hand dismissively. “Ah, don’t thank me too much, kid. I ain’t gettin’ you any Christmas presents.” Dipper walked towards Grunkle Stan, enveloping him in a hug. Grunkle Stan noogied the top of his head, smiling quietly. “Mind the stomach.” 

The group migrated into the house to reunite with the rest of the family and friends that had missed Mabel and Dipper dearly, talking amongst themselves. The trees rustled quietly behind them, almost in acknowledgement of their return. The world was at peace. 

For now.


	2. First Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dipper meets Wilson and wonders a few things.

Dipper walked into the science classroom of the high school, sitting next to Mabel, who draped her stuff both on the seat behind her and on the seat behind Dipper to save seats for Candy and Grenda. Dipper pulled out his journal from within his vest and began to write while he waited for class to start. 

_September 9th, 2013_

_I asked Wendy for advice on the teachers. She said that most of them are “pretty chill”- the math teacher in particular gives lots of extra credit and the history teacher is lenient about deadlines. However, there are two teachers she didn’t know about. They appear to be new. One is the science teacher, Mr. Higgsbury, while one is the girl’s coach, Coach Blackburn. I’ll have to learn from Mabel what Coach Blackburn is like, but I’ll be getting some firsthand knowledge in what Mr. Higgsbury is like. Hopefully this’ll be a good experience..._

Dipper lifted his head up from writing at the sound of an ear-piercing shriek from Mabel as Candy and Grenda entered the classroom. “It is great that you are here, Mabel!” Candy said, hugging Mabel. Grenda stuck out both her arms, letting two lizards run down them. “I got another lizard!” she said. “Woaah..” Mabel replied. “Twice the fun!”

It was just then that a man who Dipper assumed was Mr. Higgsbury walked in. He noted with some interest that his hair was styled in the shape of a W- the man must really have a lot of time and/or hair gel on his hands. He stood at the front of the classroom, clearing his throat. “Hello there, you two.” he said, gesturing to Dipper and Mabel. “I haven’t seen you before- are you new here?” 

“This is our first time in the high school, but we’ve been to Gravity Falls before, sir.” Dipper replied. 

The rest of the class went on as normal. Dipper noted Mr. Higgsbury as being a teacher who was alright, if prone to getting caught up in his work. He was passionate about science, that was for sure. The only odd thing he noticed was at the end of class, when most of the students had left. The teacher was grabbing a stack of papers and bringing them to his desk when, suddenly, he cut his finger on one of the papers. He winced, and Dipper could distinctly hear the sound of a trumpet before he reached under the desk to grab a bandage. Curious. He grabbed his journal out of his vest and noted it down as he left the room.

The rest of the school day was normal, but Dipper couldn’t stop thinking about the mysterious sound. Mabel would probably say it was just nothing, but he had been right about weird things before, and this was definitely interesting.

Now, to go about investigating this..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I don't know how to write school settings all that well? Also I'm thinking this might be a triple post- this chapter looks even shorter in AO3 than in Google Docs.


	3. The Camping Incident, Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wendy sees a cool treemonster. It doesn't end well.

_Four days after the previous chapter..._

Mabel ran downstairs, bedazzled sleeping bag in one hand, glittering backpack in the other as she chanted “Camping trip! Camping trip! Camping trip!” Dipper came down next, vest packed full of various books, and a rolled up sleeping bag on top of the backpack he was wearing. Wendy was in the hallway, leaning against the wall. “You two ready for the ultimate weekend camping trip?” The twins said their affirmatives. “What part of the woods are we going to?” Dipper asked. “Oh, you’ll see..” Wendy responded, dodging the question. She lead the two outside, getting in the golf cart. Dipper sat in the back, while Mabel sat in the front, next to Wendy. She started up the cart and began to drive into the forest.

Wendy was a couple minutes into the forest, chatting idly with Mabel, when Dipper spoke up. “I don’t recognize this part of the forest. Where are we?” Wendy stopped the cart in front of a big cluster of trees. “We’re almost there. Follow me, dudes.” she said, taking the key out of the ignition and getting out. The two did the same, following her through a small, hidden trail leading through the cluster. 

They broke into a clearing about a minute of walking later. Dipper blinked at the sudden sunlight, looking around at the trees. “These trees are a different species than the rest of the forest.” he noted. “That’s not the best thing.” Wendy said, excitement lacing her voice. She strolled casually towards the large tree in the center. Unlike the other trees in the area, it had no trunk. “Hey, treedude!” she said, lightly punching the tree. It stirred, limbs emerging from within. In the main tree part, a mouth and two eyes opened up. “Whoa..” Mabel said, hurrying to pick the flowers around the area. “I’m going to make the biggest flower crown ever for it!” “What is it?” Dipper asked, watching as the tree began to wander around the clearing. “I dunno, but isn’t it just awesome?! This clearing is perfect for camping, too!” Wendy responded. 

She pulled her sleeping bag from out of the backpack she was wearing, laying it out on a patch of ground that the tree was not likely to walk over. Dipper did the same, followed by Mabel with a bunch of petals in her hands. She sat on a nearby rock- Dipper couldn’t remember ever seeing boulders like that in the main part of the forest- and began to attempt to weave the petals together by hand, before remembering she had a needle and thread in her backpack and sewing the petals together to form a garland for herself. 

With all his stuff set up, Dipper walked closer to the tree, taking out his journal and beginning to sketch a picture of it. The tree took notice of him, walking towards Dipper. Dipper looked up, suddenly keenly aware that the tree would be able to smash him into the ground in an instant. He swallowed nervously but held his ground. It was at that moment that Mabel, having finished her larger flower crown, ran over to the tree, drawing its attention by yelling “Hey, treeguy!” at the tree. It turned. “Do you want this flower crown, Mr. Tree?” she asked it, holding up the flower crown. Dipper froze. Despite his worst fears, the tree simply extended a hand towards Mabel, allowing her to place the flower crown on it. It then lifted the flower crown to the tip of its main tree body, placing it delicately on the top of its head. Dipper noted something down in his journal, feeling a rush of not uncalled for relief.

The rest of the day passed without concern, but as the day rolled into dusk and Wendy showed them both how to set up a campfire, he couldn’t ignore the headache that was at first a small concern but slowly grew larger. Soon enough, it was sending stabs of pain through his head. He could almost swear the world around him was becoming desaturated and monochrome. 

The thing that really tipped Dipper off that something was wrong was when Wendy sat down, rubbing her temples. “Is it just me or does anyone else have this wicked headache?” Dipper looked up. “I- ow- do.” Mabel tilted her head. “I have one too, but it’s barely there.” Dipper winced again as his headache sent another sharp spine of pain through his head. He saw a flicker of movement in the trees, barely noticeable through the dim light and the fact that whatever it was was barely a shadow. “Is the world going- going all- ow- black and white to you guys too?” Wendy looked over at Dipper, starting to speak hesitantly. “...yeah? Kinda. Dude, you look like you’re in serious pain.” Mabel looked over at Dipper, concern in her eyes. “Are you okay, Dippin’ Dots? Your eyes are all reddish.” 

Dipper opened his mouth to answer, but before he could, Wendy spoke up first. “What is that?!” He turned, seeing a crawling, scuttling thing creep its way into the clearing. The sight of it sent shivers down his spine. It reminded him of a gigantic tick. Two mismatched eyeholes were set in its lower body, just above the many small legs that looked like they should dig into the ground, despite the fact that the creature left no footprints. It appeared to be composed of a shadowy substance that flickered in the light, and gave off an aura of utter wrongness. Despite his best efforts to stand his ground, Dipper scrambled backwards, pressing his back against the boulder Mabel was sitting on. Mabel blinked. “I don’t see anything.. Dipper, are you okay?” The tick creature turned, looking at Dipper, and he felt a cold certainty that this creature was going to kill him. It reared up, all of its legs moving in sequence. The shadowy body split open, revealing rows of razor sharp teeth.

Before Dipper could even react, it leapt forward, scoring a row of gouges on Dipper’s arm. He screamed in both pain and terror. “Dipper!” Mabel yelled, making a move to jump off the rock. “Stay back!” Dipper yelled, both at the monster and Mabel. She would be safer up there. Wendy charged at it, letting out a battle cry before slamming her foot into the creature. The shadows gave, disappearing into several pieces that rapidly dissolved. Wendy made a motion of dusting her hands off, before turning to help Dipper, thinking the threat was over. 

Dipper saw the tick reform behind Wendy, looming over her and preparing to strike once more. “Wendy! Watch out!” Dipper yelled. She rolled out of the way, grabbing her axe from her belt. Two more of the creatures scuttled out from the forest. Dipper clutched his head again as a sharp stab of pain radiated through it. Mabel looked around wildly, beginning to see the creatures. They were going to be outnumbered soon- right now they were just appearing for Dipper, but if Wendy began attracting them..

The clearing was mercifully silent for a few moments. Wendy stood there, axe in hand, looking like the defender of them all. Dipper tried to think of some master plan to save them, but with no weapon and every chance that the odds would be even more stacked against them soon, he was hopeless.

Then a man burst through the trees, yelling “Go for the eyes!” as he charged the nearest shadow creature.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a turn for the worst when I was writing it when I remembered Treeguards have sanity drain.


	4. The Camping Incident, Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wilson to the rescue!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yet another double upload today. Happy early Valentine's day to everyone reading this.

_Thirteen minutes earlier_

Wilson walked through the forest, walking cane in hand, occasionally looking around for any signs of the rather unique forest he had just come from. He found the odd berry bush or flower, but other than that, there weren’t any sign of the world the group had escaped this far out from the epicenter. Still, this trip was more than just that. The group’s wood cutting efforts should’ve summoned a Treeguard by now- but it hadn’t. This meant a Treeguard was somewhere nearby, and if anyone else found it before he or someone else who was used to dealing with them did… he shuddered to think of dealing with the consequences. Quietly reminding himself to stay on task, he readjusted his grip on the walking cane and continued his search.

It was much later, and when Wilson was just about to give up and get back to the camp to finish up his paperwork (he still couldn’t believe how much paperwork a teacher had to do, but he supposed it was inevitable) when he saw the redbird. It sat quietly in front of a dense cluster of trees, almost as a sign that something was different within. He pushed his way through a gap in the trees - just a difference of exactly one tree that set him on edge- and stopped in shock when he heard the sounds of fighting. He heard a shout from within. “Wendy, watch out!” Wilson recognized the voice as one of his students, Dipper, and quickly but quietly continued into the forest surrounding the noises. He had no idea what they were fighting, and he hoped that they hadn’t angered the treeguard. 

The situation was worse than he’d thought. A group of Them clustered around three people, while the treeguard wandered in the background, a large flower crown atop his head. Wilson could feel the subtle drain of sanity the Treeguard gave off from experience, but knew that anyone else wouldn’t have that sort of know-how. Indeed, there was one redheaded girl warding off the shadow creatures with an axe, occasionally narrowly dodging an attack, occasionally not. The amount looked manageable, but he knew that many more would soon come if he didn’t get them away from the Treeguard. He pulled out a tentacle spike and a spear, silently praising his luck that he didn’t bring a night sword to this fight. Such a weapon would only worsen the effects of sanity loss. 

The time had come to act, and Wilson did so, bursting out of the trees and yelling a battle cry of “Go for the eyes!”, before tossing Dipper, who looked the least sane out of all of them, a spear. “Mabel, stay up on that rock! They aren’t attracted to you yet! You two, attack!” He drew the attention of one of the three Crawling Horrors that had gathered in the clearing by slashing at it, before moving out of the way as it reformed behind him and bit at him. The tall redhead (he thought her name was Wendy, but he wasn’t so sure) yelled a battle cry at the one in front of her, charging blindly into its attack but dealing it an equal blow.

Three people against three Horrors was no challenge, and they were soon reduced into nightmare fuel, which Wilson scooped up and put into his backpack before any of the three could so much as register what it was. No use getting the three more involved than they already had. Wilson turned to the kids. “We’ll have to get away from the Treeguard or all your problems will come back again.” 

Mabel gasped in shock as she slid off the boulder she was sitting on. “Does that mean that Mr. Tree summoned the monsters?” she asked, sounding for all the world like Webber. Wilson found her unexpectedly endearing. “No, but he’s the cause of it. I promise, it was of no intention of his own. Now, who found the Treeguard?” The redhead raised her hand as the procession followed Wilson to one of the temporary camps set up by the group around the forest, sleeping bags and other miscellaneous items in hand. “I did, but I didn’t think it would, like, cause those shadow monsters to appear.” She winced, rubbing her temples. Dipper followed suit, going into the head clutching that he’d seen all the survivors do (and had done himself) at one point or another, reminding him that he had to be quick if he wanted to avoid dealing with one of Them again. 

Luckily, the nearest camp wasn’t too far from where they’d found the Treeguard, and none of Them showed up as he lead them back. It wasn’t much, just a fire pit and enough space to lay out a sleeping bag or three. “Since your parents probably won’t be expecting you back until morning, you can sleep here for the rest of the night. I can assure you it’s perfectly safe.” He put the tentacle spike away in his backpack. “The best thing you can get right now is a good night’s sleep.” he said to the group. Dipper raised his hand before remembering he wasn’t in a school setting and putting his hand back down. “Mr. Higgsbury?” he asked.

“Yes?” Wilson responded.

“What were those things back in the clearing?” 

“That was a Treeguard. They’re usually summoned by cutting down too many trees in a short period of time, but naturally created ones, like the one you encountered, are friendly.” Wilson responded.

“What about the shadow things?”

Wilson mentally sighed, knowing he couldn’t keep dodging the question forever but wishing the kid never asked. Curiosity killed the cat, after all. Maxwell and himself were prime examples of that. “Those were Crawling Horrors.” he said, not elaborating. Still, Dipper pushed on, unaware about how uncomfortable this was making Wilson. “Why were they summoned?” 

“It was a part of being in proximity with the Treeguard. They give off a sort of aura that drains your mental state, what w- I call sanity.” he said, almost slipping and giving away the fact that there were multiple people who knew about this. The less the kid knew about that particular tale, the better. 

“Everyone has differing amounts of sanity, and that’s why you went insane first.” Before Dipper could press further, he changed the subject. “Now, you’ve all experienced at least a bit of sanity drain, and a good night’s sleep will help you all. Dipper, Wendy- that’s your name, right?- (the redhead nodded), let me treat your bite wounds before you two fall asleep. Don’t want you getting an infection.” 

He pulled out some healing salve from his backpack, first rubbing it over Dipper’s arm gouges, then the series of tooth marks along Wendy’s front. “Thanks, Mr. Higgsbury.” Dipper looked up from examining the wound. “Yeah, thanks.” “Thanks for saving us from the shadow monsters!” Mabel yelled from her sleeping bag. He smiled quietly, choosing to lean against a tree and watch the three. He’d had sleepless nights before. He could watch these three for the rest of the night.

He woke up the next morning with a crow sitting on his shoulder and bark digging painfully into his back. So much for that endeavor. Mabel, surprisingly, was already up, roasting marshmallows on the fire, which she must’ve just restarted. “Hey, Mr. Higgsbury! Wendy and Dip-dork are still asleep, if you wanna wake them up.” He shook his head, causing the crow to go flying away, leaving a couple seeds on his shoulder. He brushed them off before responding. “Let them wake up on their own time. They need their rest, especially after last night.” Mabel nodded, and went back to roasting marshmallows. Wendy woke up next, stretching in her sleeping bag. “Yo, are those marshmallows?” 

“Yep!” Mabel said, passing her some uncooked ones and a stick. Wendy walked over to Dipper, shaking him awake. “Hey, dude. Want some marshmallows?” Dipper yawned and rubbed his eyes, rolling over in his sleeping bag. “Five more minutes, Wendy…” he said quietly. “Alrighty, dork.” she replied. Wilson walked over to Wendy. “Can you kids find your way back to town safely?” Wendy nodded. “I left the golf cart we used on the other side of the clearing.”  
“I’ll escort you there, then. Wouldn’t want you kids getting hurt again.” Dipper chose this time to come out of his sleeping bag, rolling it up and setting it aside his backpack. “Hey, dip-dop, you’re finally up! Feel any better?” Dipper nodded. “A lot better. That salve must be magic or something.” Wilson leaned back against the tree, mentally preparing himself for whatever questions Dipper might want to aim at him. Sure enough, he looked over at Wilson and asked, “Why were you out in the forest that late at night?” 

“I was looking for the Treeguard. “ he responded. “I guessed one might be in the area and was hoping to find it before anyone else got to it. They can be quite strong when angered.” Thankfully for his nerves, Dipper didn’t pry this time, instead accepting the answer at face value. 

“Well, dudes.” Wendy said, catching everyone’s attention. “We should get going before Stan makes us work extra for staying in the woods so long. Wilson’s gonna escort us to the golf cart just in case anything else causes trouble.” The group set off into the woods, reaching the cart with no troubles. “See you at school tomorrow!” Mabel said, waving at Wilson as the golf cart sped away. He hoped that they didn’t get into trouble again anytime soon, but knew that with personalities like that, it was bound to happen. At least they weren’t tangling themselves up with Them. This would be a one-time encounter with Their world, and then they would never get themselves involved in it again.

Oh, how wrong he was.


	5. Carnival Prize

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mabel meets a spider at the carnival. Things go better than you'd think.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly one of my favorite chapters so far, despite the fact that it's basically a filler.

Mabel looked longingly upwards at a gigantic pig plushie, drifting softly in the breeze as it hung close enough for her to see every seam. She _would_ get that pig- she swore it upon each and every one of her bedazzled sweaters. She would do it for Waddles! The plushie itself hung tauntingly on the side of the booth, almost daring her to steal it. But she wouldn’t- that was what Grunkle Stan would do, not her! She walked up to the booth worker, pulling out her bedazzled wallet and paying for a couple turns. 

The minigame itself didn’t seem too hard- just a ladder with ropes on either side and brightly colored wood grips. She prepared herself to win that plushie, or run out of money trying. Mabel walked up to the ladder. “I’m not afraid of you.” she said. “You’re just a ladder that I have to climb. I’ll have that plushie in no time!” Mabel grabbed onto the first rung of the ladder, pulling herself up to the next and firmly gripping it. She would get that plushie, she would get that plushie… She repeated the mantra again and again as she advanced further up the horizontally positioned ladder. A burst of happiness rushed through her as she got halfway up the ladder. She was going to make this, she was going to-

The ladder, which had been attached on either side by one point, rotated, tipping her off the ladder and onto the padded ground. “I’m okay!” Mabel yelled at nobody in particular while pulling herself up, before walking back to the beginning of the ladder and getting ready for another turn. She would get that plushie, if only to honor Waddles. Mabel was determined, and nothing would stop her.

20$ and many, many failed turns later, she was ready to give up. She glared at the ladder with grim determination. She _**would**_ get that plushie, no matter how many dollars she had to spend! Just as she was about to shell out even more money to go again, she saw the spider boy. He walked up to the booth as casually as a normal person. The booth worker looked him over. “Nice costume.” He smiled, showing razor-sharp teeth. “Thanks! W- I worked really hard on it!” Mabel prevented herself from raising an eyebrow. He was clearly lying- a costume that complicated had to have seams, and there was no way to hide any possible seams underneath the short, bristly fur- but she said nothing. The spider paid for five turns and walked over to the ladder, climbing quickly yet carefully. He was good, Mabel thought to herself. Not once did the ladder rotate and make him fall as he clambered over to the end. Her heart dropped as he picked the pig plushie, but she supposed it was fair. He beat it on his first try, she should be happy for him!

A jolt of surprise went through her as she was offered the pig plushie. The spider was smiling at her. “I saw you having trouble with the ladder, so w- I wanted to help!” She took it in her hands, then hugged him suddenly. The spider’s upper legs flailed in surprise for a moment, before he returned the hug. “Thank you!” she exclaimed, before breaking the hug. “By the way, I’m Mabel. What’s your name?” 

“I’m Webber!” he responded, shaking her outstretched hand. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted by Mabel. “Hey, is that lady behind you your grandmother?” Webber turned, before looking back at Mabel, eyes going wide. “Oh no, she looks really mad… I probably shouldn’t have snuck out to the carnival! Bye Mabel, see you some time!” Webber took off, weaving through the carnival booths. The woman that Mabel had assumed was Webber’s grandmother (at least, adoptive) began running after Webber, showing her surprisingly fit for a woman of her age. 

Stan showed up a few minutes later, holding a stick of cotton candy. “Hey kid.” he said, ruffling Mabel’s hair. “Wanna go get outta these fairgrounds? They’re a bigger scam than I am.” Mabel nodded. “Onwards!” she shouted, as she ran off to where Stan had parked his car. Stan chuckled softly. “Wait up, my old man legs can’t run that fast!” he yelled after her. Mabel kept running, knowing full well that he could run that fast. Stan grumbled something under his breath and followed her. Mabel wondered, quietly, if she would ever see Webber again.


	6. Full Moon Frights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone dares Mabel to go into the forest on a full moon.

Mabel didn’t even know why she was out this late at night. It had merely been a stupid dare- Jaison, one of the students that had been teasing her at school, had dared her that she couldn’t go out in the forest on a full moon for the entire night. He was obviously a newer kid, or he wouldn’t have tried. Most of the students in the school were completely starstruck by her and Dipper, them being the ‘legendary heroes of Weirdmageddon’. Those who believed in the weirdness of Gravity Falls, anyways. Jaison, on the other hand…

_“Hey, rainbow!” Jaison shouted at Mabel. Mabel turned, preparing to respond to whatever inane thing he wanted with a Mabel-Worthy Response. “Yeah?”_

_“Bet ya can’t go through the forest on a full moon!”_

_“I bet I can!”_

_“Prove it!”_

_“Meet me in the forest just outside the school tonight, okay?”_

_“Yeah, bet you won’t be there!”_

Cut to now, where Mabel and Jaison were strolling through the forest, Mabel knowing the path much better than Jaison, who was cutting through foliage and scratching up trees ‘to show the way back’. (although she knew that he was cutting “Jaison was here” on all the trees he could) The light of the full moon meant Mabel didn’t have to bring a flashlight, but she still brought her backpack, which had some snacks, a rolled-up sleeping bag, and a signal flare- the last which was requested by Dipper, just in case. Her brother was so paranoid. Nothing would happen!

Mabel was just about ready to set down her sleeping bag for the night after an hour or two of walking when Jaison suddenly looked into the trees. “What was that?” he asked, eyes wide. “Oh, probably nothing.” Mabel said. Jaison shook his head. “I know somethin’ was there. We gotta check it out!” Mabel rolled her eyes when she knew Jaison couldn’t see and jogged in the direction of where Jaison supposedly saw something. 

She could faintly make out the outline of spider legs in a shadow cast by a tree. **Webber?** she mouthed, careful not to make any sound that alerted Jaison. She had an idea. The spider nodded to her. Jaison caught up to her, casually walking up next to her, and Webber shrank back, further into the shadows, where Jaison couldn't see him. “I think I saw something go that way!” she lied, pointing in the opposite direction of Webber. Jaison took the bait, blindly charging off into the trees. Mabel walked over to Webber.

“Wanna scare the guy who’s with me?” she whispered to him. Webber nodded excitedly. “We’re gonna send him running for mommy!” he whispered back. “Okay, here’s my plan…”

\-----

Jaison walked confidently back into the clearing, having intentionally dirtied himself up, even making a couple of scratches on his arms with a stick to add to the illusion. Of course, he didn’t find anything (he didn't even believe that anything lived in these spooky woods), but Mabel didn’t need to know that. He would be the bravest boy she’d ever met, and she would come swooning into his arms. He would- His train of thought derailed and crashed into a building when he saw the web. 

He knew that there hadn’t been a web like that before he left. It was stretched out between two evergreens, looming above him. Mabel was caught in it, struggling to get out. “Help me, Jaison!” she shouted down at him. Jaison looked around on the ground, grabbing the sharpest rock he could see. Looked like flint. “Don’t worry, Mabel! I’ll get you down from there!” he shouted up at her, being the bravest he could. As soon as he stepped onto the web, he realized this would be harder than it seemed- the web was incredibly sticky, slowing down his movement. Still, he pressed on, despite his doubts. _Were_ there monsters in this forest? Nah.

Jaison heard a hissing sound from behind him and turned, coming face-to-face with what looked like a humanoid spider, proving every single one of his denials that Gravity Falls was perfectly normal false. Its fangs were bared menacingly, and, unlike him, it wasn’t slowed down by the web at all, slowly stalking ever closer to him. A burst of fear and adrenaline rushed through his veins. He held the rock in front of him like a weapon, unable to prevent his arms from shaking. "L- leave Mabel alone! I'll- I'll hurt you! Yeah!" he said, trying to scare the monster off as much as boost his confidence. The spider raised the limbs connected to its head threateningly, hissing again. It lunged. He didn't react for the few milliseconds required for his brain to register that this spider was charging at him. Once the message from his brain caught up to his limbs, Jaison dropped the rock, screaming and running. The spider seemed content to stay and watch as he ran into the forest. At least, that's what he thought by the lack of pursuit. Once Jaison judged that he had gone far enough away from the monstrous spiderthing, he dived into a bush, peaking out just enough that the spider couldn't see him. He had to see what it would do to Mabel, if only to give the account to his friends later. 

Mabel wriggled out from the webs after a bit of struggling, freeing herself and jumping down to where the spider stood. He winced. The spider would surely- wait, what? Mabel was talking to the spider? "Did you see how scared he was, Webber?! It was hilarious!" Her wild giggles rang out through the clearing as 'Webber' responded. “We sure scared him! He won’t be coming back any time soon!” Jaison's eyebrows skyrocketed. This girl was not only friends with this creepy spider, but was friends enough with it to play a prank on him? He processed this for a moment, before thinking that he'd almost be impressed if his heart wasn't pounding like he had just played The End of Us. Figuring that he had seen enough, he crept away into the forest, before circling around, locating the trail, and leaving Mabel and her creepy spider friend alone. He was never trying that again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aand we're finally on a regular update schedule! I'm figuring that I'll update this once every Wednesday, since all my other uploads have been on Wednesdays.


	7. Perspective

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A being returns from death. Another escapes their prison.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the late update! To compensate, there will be a double upload.

There was darkness. Bill awoke, stretching his limbs and looking around the void which he was in. This didn’t look like the axolotl’s space, but it was granted that it probably didn’t want him to make any attempts at destroying its realm. Bill decided to wander around wherever he had been held, floating around and staking out the limits of his holding cell. 

Bill determined the size of the “room” he was being kept in to be approximately the size of a small ssalia. (or, in human terms, about the size of a large house.) He was quietly impressed that the axolotl had managed to spare this much neutral space for him. Untouched space like this was highly coveted. He looked around again. Said salamander was nowhere to be seen. Huh. The axolotl was usually timely about her business. Bill was surprised she’d keep someone like him waiting for this long. He thought she’d be rushing to finish what they started. Suddenly, something uncurled itself, detaching from the nearest wall. Ah. So he wasn’t in neutral territory. Interrupting the axolotl’s ‘contracts’ (she refused to call them deals) wasn’t impossible, as it had been done before, but it was quite a feat of magic. He wondered what would be brave enough to try to trap one of the most well-known demons around here.

The presence spread out, revealing that it was in fact multiple presences. Bill carefully kept his expression neutral, not sure what to think in this situation. The dark silhouettes clarified. Bill recognized Them easily. He couldn’t help himself- he recoiled, both in fear and anger. “Why are you out?” he asked, burying the anger under his usual charismatic tone.

It responded in that peculiar, multi-voiced way it spoke in, sending shivers down Bill’s nonexistent spine. “yOu DiDn’T kNoW?” Bill narrowed his eye at the beings. “I was busy.” 

“wE wErE bUsY tOo.” the being responded. 

“It would seem so! Tell me, how did you get out of that jail?” he asked, putting on an air of nonchalance and leaning back in midair. He snapped, summoning his cane.

“wE gOt sOmEoNe To HeLp Us.” 

Bill seethed internally. They got out by doing the exact thing that got them locked up in the first place? He forced himself to respond casually.

“Who did you trick this time around?”

“a HuMaN wHo HaD fOuNd OnE oF Our ArTiFaCts.”

“Just one?”

“We cHaInEd HiM dOwN aNd MaDe HiM tRiCk OtHeRs In.”

“They escaped, tearing a hole out of your prison in the process?” Bill offered. They seemed to give an affirmative, but said nothing else. “Why have you dragged me here?”

“tO mAkE a CoUnTeR-OfFeR.” 

“Nnnope. Not gonna happen- try your luck elsewhere.” He would've laughed if he wasn't trying not to get himself attacked.

They chuckled darkly. Bill resisted the urge to attempt to punch one of Them in the face, knowing it would help nothing.

“aRe YoU sUrE aBoUt tHaT? wHaT wIlL tHe AxOlOtL dO tO yOu?”

“Nothing, now that you’re back.”

“dIsApPoInTiNg. ReLyInG oN oLd AlLiAnCeS wIlL nOt SaVe YoU.” They vanished, just before there was a distinct sensation of something cracking and the axolotl burst through in all her light, batting a tail at where They had just been on reflect.

Unlike most of the beings that Bill had met, the axolotl communicated mostly in emotions. It was confusing for those new to her “voice” and made it much harder to hide anything. That was okay for Bill- he had bigger fish to fry than the axolotl’s contract. She sent a questioning emotion to him.

“They’ve escaped.” he said, this time making no effort to hide exactly what he thought about that occurrence.

She seethed, white pigmentation turning black as she swam about the ruins of the holding room that They had put him in. With Time Baby dead, Bill and the axolotl were the only ones alive who had been present when They were sealed into the dimension They had corrupted. The two remembered what _that_ was like all too well. There were bigger problems to deal with at the moment- it looked like Bill had been spared as of now. _Any ideas?_ she asked. “I think I know a way we can find out exactly what’s going on.”


	8. Storm Warning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pines family is warned about impending doom by an unlikely figure.

Dipper was in a forest. He didn’t know how he got there, or even where he was going, but he kept walking, knowing that he'd get wherever he was going eventually. He could hear the soft sound of footsteps on either side of him. He recognized Mabel’s light footsteps, Stan’s shuffling gait, and Ford’s strong and steady walk. Dipper relaxed, knowing that his family was with him in this dream. They would protect him. The four kept walking, their footsteps getting steadily closer to Dipper until, suddenly, they broke out of the forest, into the clearing. Dipper looked left and right, noticing for the first time that the world was monochrome. He froze, making eye contact with the others. They also seemed to be coming to this realization at the same time, and they all knew what it meant. The Mindscape. Ford reached down to where his gun would usually be holstered, and Stan attempted to pull his brass knuckles out of his pocket. Both only grasped air. 

An all-too-familiar triangle materialized over the trees in the background, pulling out his cane and floating down to the ground. “Hel-lo, Pines family! Didja miss me?” He leaned sideways on his cane, floating in midair.

“We killed you, Bill, and we’ll kill you again!” Dipper shouted.

Bill waved a hand dismissively. “Relax, relax. I’m not here to start Weirdmageddon _this_ time around. I’m here to help you save this dimension!”

“Why would you want to save us?” Ford asked, more than a little suspicious of Bill's motives. Dipper couldn't blame him.

Bill snapped his fingers, and the scene morphed into another forest. Dipper recognized those trees from the clearing from weeks ago- why was he showing everyone this? He looked over at Mabel. She gave him a small shrug. She didn't know either.

“Lemme give you the facts. Your dimension is going to be under attack by a shadow force known only as ‘Them’- with a capital T. I’m here to stop that from happening, and give you four a warning. “

Ford narrowed his eyes. “If They’re powerful enough to destroy an entire dimension, why haven’t we heard of Them before?” 

“Ah. Smart as ever, Sixer. Have a prize!” Bill summoned what looked to be a spaghetti mess of internal organs. It flew off into the forest after a few moments. Ford took a step back, but managed not to react besides a small wince. “They were locked up- I was there to see it, helped lock ‘em up myself in fact.”

“Why should we trust you, Bill?” Dipper accused. 

Bill held one of his hands out, palm open to the sky. Miniature figures of the Crawling Horrors Dipper had seen appeared upon it. “Recognize these, Pine Tree, Shooting Star?” Dipper recoiled in fear. One encounter was enough for him. Mabel similarly took a step back, grabbing Dipper's hand in an attempt to find some comfort. He squeezed it. Bill continued. “And you, Sixer! I know you strayed a little too close to Their dimension on your trip. Know anything about these?” He snapped, and the picture changed. Ford’s eyes widened in fear as he saw a creature with a large, beaked mouth filled with sharp, needlelike teeth, a small, stemlike body with spikes running down the back of it, and four sharp legs that reminded Dipper of the Crawling Horror. “How do you know about that?” Ford said. “And what do Dipper and Mabel have to do with Them?” 

“The two had a lil’ encounter with Them, same as you, IQ. Nothing too big!”

That was a colossal understatement. Ever since his encounter with the tick-like creature, he’d had on-and-off nightmares about the Crawling Horror every night since then. Nobody had asked him about it. Seeing Dipper with bags under his eyes from another research session was surprisingly common, but Dipper was secretly glad that Bill had given them this dream. At least he would be getting some sleep tonight. Bill continued on. “Anyways, there’s a couple of people out in the forest that managed to escape from Their prison, which is impressive, considering how many people They’ve pulled into it. Unknown to them, the survivors have punched a hole through Their prison! Although only the Crawling Horrors and the Terrorbeaks have escaped into this world, Their dimension is slowly bleeding into this one, with all of the _wonderful_ side effects that comes with!” 

Dipper shivered involuntarily at the memories of the desaturated, monochrome world that his experience with insanity had showed him. A thought occurred to him. “So why are you telling us this when you can investigate this yourself, Bill?” 

Bill laughed. “That’s a question I’d have thought Sixer came up with. You’re really taking after your great-uncle, Pine Tree!” He cleared his throat. “But the matter of the problem is, I can’t. I don’t have as much of a connection to this dimension anymore after the events of Weirdmageddon. So my job for you four is to investigate the survivors of Their world- names are Wilson, Willow, Maximus, who goes by Wolfgang, Wendy, Webber, Woodie, Anathema, who goes by Wickerbottom, Winona, WX-78, Wes, Wigfrid, and William.” 

“Why are most of them W names?” Mabel asked. Bill put a hand to where his chin would be if he was in a human body for a moment, appearing to be deep in thought. “If I had to guess it would be the power of W names signifying determination and also amplifying any rituals related to escape, which is why They took people with names that start with W.”

“Really?” Dipper asked in some amazement, wishing he had his journal. Bill snickered. “Nah, just tricking you. No idea!” Dipper glared at Bill as he continued. “Remember, cross your I’s, dot your T’s- wait I have those mixed up- see ya BYE!” The forest around them began to dissolve into nothingness.

In the safety of his bed, Dipper sat bolt upright, wondering if the entire thing was just a nightmare concocted by his overworked mind. He turned to Mabel. “Did you have that dream too?” He asked. “Yep!” Mabel said, still keeping her bright and cheery tone even in the face of an encounter with Bill. “So.. what now?” he responded. “We go back to sleep, silly!” she said, causing the both of them to laugh. 

Dipper had no nightmares that night, only sweet, dreamless sleep.


	9. Bonfire Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, nobody died from the fire...

Willow sulked in the corner of the gym, arms crossed and back to the wall as she listened to the rain pounding down outside. The night of the legendary bonfire night, a night Willow had looked forward to during all her time at Gravity Falls, ruined by a stupid thunderstorm! As if to spite her, lightning crackled down outside, making her heart race until she remembered that it was fine, and the lightning wouldn’t start any pretty but dangerous fires to deal with, or worse, send an already-moody WX into overdrive, making the rest of the group hunt down Crawling Horrors and Terrorbeaks for the rest of the night until someone could grab some mushrooms from one of the chests.

She blew away a strand of hair from her face as she saw Wilson standing in the doorway to the gym. Willow turned around. “I’m not coming out from this corner, not until the stupid rain stops!” She could hear Wilson walking closer and kneeling behind her. “Maybe you could hold bonfire night somewhere else?” he asked softly, making her face light up with joy. She turned around. “That’s brilliant, Wilson! I’ll hold it in the gym!” She could see Wilson’s comforting smile shift to his signature this was a bad idea face before she took off running for her fire supplies. 

A few minutes and some announcements later, she could see the students filing into the gym, sitting down in the bleachers as she worked on building up the bonfire. One of her own students practically bounced up to her. She recognized her as Mabel. Webber had talked about her- telling the group that she was ‘the best friend ever’ and ‘played fun games with us’. “Can I help you with the bonfire, Miss Blackburn?” Willow smiled widely. “Of course!” she responded, gesturing to the woodpile next to her. A couple other students came over to help as well, and soon the bonfire was built up to a fairly large size. Willow pulled out her trusty lighter and lit the fire, beautiful flames rapidly licking up the sides. 

Mabel pulls out some marshmallows from inside her sweater, shouting over at the bleachers “Marshmallows for all!”, sending kids running for the bonfire in the middle of the gym in an attempt to get to the marshmallows first. The kids settle down surprisingly quickly, Mabel sitting down with Candy and Grenda. 

It’s a few minutes later when an ember arcs off the fire, which has been built ever-higher by enthusiastic students and an even more enthusiastic Willow. The ember hits the very flammable exposed insulation in the roof. With an audible “whoosh”, the ember catches, starting another fire in the ceiling. It spreads quickly, and even though the fire alarm goes off, no sprinklers accompany it. Mabel’s sister, Dipper (Wilson told Willow about Dipper, calling him ‘a bright, enthusiastic student with too much curiosity’) begins organizing evacuation efforts, getting the students out of the now burning gym in record time.

This means nobody is there to see Willow gladly leap into the flames, twirling and spinning as the flames lick up her sides, not even burning her or her clothes for a single second as she laughs among the blaze.

-=Perspective Switch=-

Dipper’s waiting outside, counting students and making sure nobody was hurt in the fire that’s now spreading through the rest of the school, when he realizes that the gym teacher never made it out of the building. He turns to Mabel. “Hey, Mabel? Did Miss Blackburn ever get out of the gym?”

Mabel rubs her chin in thought. “Not that I saw, but I’m sure she’s fine!” 

“If you think so..” Dipper responds. “But I don’t see her anywhere in the crowd.”

Luckily for Dipper’s nerves, he sees Miss Blackburn exit the now burnt to the ground gym, beginning to converse with Wil- Mr. Higgsbury. Remembering the list of W names Bill had rattled off just a couple nights earlier, he tells Mabel that “he’ll be back” and walks off to eavesdrop on the two’s conversation on a whim.

As he crawls through a bush and comes within earshot of the two, he hears the sound of arguing.

“Look, Willow, I know you wanted to hold a bonfire inside because of the thunderstorm,” Dipper remembers the pouring rain that was coming down just a bit earlier, a storm that unhelpfully stopped as soon as the school began burning- “but that was not a-”

Miss Blackburn interrupts. “A bright idea?” She giggles. Dipper realizes that Willow was one of the names on the list- no wonder these two were friends!

Wilson facepalms. “This is not the time for puns, Willow! You burnt down an entire school!” 

“It was fun! I’ve never been in a blaze that big before!” Willow responds.

“You can’t just burn down other people’s property!”

“I can if I wanna! Besides, it was an accident!”

“An accident that was your fault.” 

“Aw, c’mon, they’ll just rebuild!”

“That doesn’t give you the right to build a massive bonfire in the middle of the gym!”

“You gave me the idea!”

“Don’t you-” Dipper’s eyes widen as Wilson trails off into what sounds like the sound of a trumpet. Willow responds with a high flute, putting her hands on her hips. He pulls out his journal, careful not to rustle the leaves of the bush he’s hiding in as he expands the entry alongside his initial notes way back when he first started attending Gravity Falls High. Although he can’t understand what exactly the two are saying, it’s clear they’re still having an argument. He takes advantage of a particularly loud shout (or whatever the blast of a trumpet that came from Wilson’s mouth would be called) to sneak back to the students waiting outside the ruins of the school, leaving Willow and Wilson none the wiser.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SURPRISE, I'M BACK! I read back through this story and found myself wanting to continue it, so here's another chapter!


End file.
